Topics

This weekend's Final Four is more old school than a two-handed set shot. Past champions, power conferences, oversized budgets. Kentucky, Wisconsin, Florida, Connecticut. This was not preordained. Wichita State was absolutely Kentucky's equal, and the Shockers might well have reached a second consecutive Final Four. Dayton advanced to the South Regional final, San Diego State to the West semifinals. George Mason in 2006, Butler in 2010 and '11, and VCU in '11 crashed the Final Four with an underdog's charm and nerve. Which is why I wince every time I hear media advocate or forecast a power conference secession from the NCAA and a championship basketball tournament...

Related "Wichita State Shockers" Articles

This weekend's Final Four is more old school than a two-handed set shot. Past champions, power conferences, oversized budgets. Kentucky, Wisconsin, Florida, Connecticut.
This was not preordained. Wichita State was absolutely Kentucky's equal, and the...

It goes all the way back to the 1930s, when Lana Turner’s road to stardom began because a Hollywood heavyweight spotted her at a soda counter in a Sunset Boulevard restaurant. Sometimes it just helps for a girl to be in the right place at the right time....

The names of Lafayette High track standouts are showing up increasingly on leaderboards on the local, state and national levels.
Adriana Hooks recently ran 10 minutes, 49.41 seconds at the Raleigh Relays in North Carolina, the best time run by a...

Wake Forest’s 1955 NCAA baseball championship was the fledgling ACC’s third national title of any variety, following Maryland’s in football (1953) and men’s lacrosse (’55). Conference teams have since won 134 national championships in 17 sports.
None...

VCU enters the NCAA tournament with a 26-8 record, not quite as glossy as last season, when the Rams were 28-6. Yet VCU is a No. 5 seed, light years better than last year’s No. 12.
Coach Shaka Smart knows why.
“A lot of people don’t talk about this, but...

For one half, William and Mary looked capable of winning a road game against a team that reach the Final Four last season.In the second half, though, No. 16 Wichita State wore down the Tribe and gained a 79-62 triumph Thursday in Kansas.Marcus Thornton...

Basketball fans in town from Virginia now have two teams to pull for on Saturday: Virginia Commonwealth against Indiana and Louisville's opponent, New Mexico.Cardinals' coach Rick Pitino may have added to his team's anti-fan base Friday when asked about...

During Final Four week, Colonial Athletic Association commissioner Tom Yeager and other principals forcefully denied a CBSSports.com report that league basketball powers VCU and George Mason might move to the Atlantic 10.Less than a month later, some very...

VCU was 90th on the Rating Percentage Index on Feb. 1. Translation: Zero NCAA tournament at-large chance.
The Rams were 80th on Feb. 15. From zero to marginal in two weeks. Progress but not about to trend on Twitter.
This morning, per CollegeRPI.com,...

Taylor Hilton scored a career-high 23 points to spark William and Mary to an 88-76 victory over Austin Peay in the UTSA Thanksgiving Classic in Texas.The Tribe (2-3) jumped to an 18-2 lead and never was threatened.Janine Aldridge added 22 points and Emily...

Bank on another anxious Selection Sunday for ACC and Colonial Athletic Association basketball fans, coaches and players. Neither conference will match its record qualifiers for the NCAA tournament field – three for the CAA and seven for the ACC. Nor will...

After more than a week of conference championship craziness, finally a bid thief: St. Bonaventure of the Atlantic 10 this afternoon became the first surprise winner of a league tournament to swipe a bid from a bubble team.The fourth-seeded Bonnies...

As suspected, Virginia was comfortably in the NCAA tournament field. The Cavaliers' opening game Friday against two-time national champion Florida in Omaha, Neb., will not approach comfortable.
"They have elite talent," Virginia coach Tony...

VCU and the Colonial Athletic Association came oh-so-close to history this basketball season. One more stop Saturday night against Indiana, or one more three, and the Rams would have reached the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year....

The stability of The Associated Press Top 25 these past several weeks blew up during a tumultuous week of big victories and upsets. Kentucky, Division I's only undefeated team, remained entrenched at No. 1 after two routs. The Wildcats (29-0) were a...

WICHITA, Kan. No. 11 Wichita State didn't waste its time in the college basketball spotlight. The Shockers won their second straight Missouri Valley Conference title with a 74-60 win over No. 10 Northern Iowa on Saturday at Koch Arena. The day...

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. The clock in Fred VanVleet's head ticks more slowly than most players. When panic seems the natural course, he stays calm. VanVleet played a key role as No. 11 Wichita State held off Indiana State 63-53 on Wednesday at Hulman Center by...

WICHITA, Kan. Evansville's motion offense no longer confuses Wichita State. Its man-to-man defense is no longer a source of frustration. That is so 2013. No. 11 Wichita State routed Evansville 62-43 on Sunday at Koch Arena, its fifth straight win...

Northern Iowa keeps on winning, and it's not hard to see why. Just look at the defense. Seth Tuttle and Nate Buss each scored 10 points, and the No. 11 Panthers won their 14th straight, clamping down on Loyola in a 58-39 victory Wednesday night....

CARBONDALE, Ill. SIU Arena used to haunt Wichita State more than any Missouri Valley Conference arena. The Shockers lost 11 straight games before ending that streak in 2010. Now, it's just another place to roll up road wins. The 13th-ranked Shockers...